Liverpool Stories
The stories on this site are not included in my book.
The tales are snapshots of my life in Liverpool, the home of the Beatles, and the echo chamber of the Mersey Sound that in the sixties resonated around the planet like an acoustic Tsunami. The stories cover a period of 50 odd years and so they touch on every aspect of my life from the rites of passage to the passing of youth. I hope you enjoy them.
Da doo Ron Ron - Heading for 2002
By John Williams
It is said of some men that they couldn't organise a raucous celebration in a brewery, but Ron Formby could probably organise a rave in a monastery. Within days of getting the green light from English heritage Mr Formby had a coach load of tourists leaving the Conservation centre on time and in good spirits as it headed for the architectural and cultural delights of Vauxhall.
As Liverpool gears up to the challenge of 2008 many of the city's landmarks are disappearing rapidly beneath the lofty presence of scores of cranes so it is comforting to know that previous states of turmoil in the city have been overcome before and in some extraordinary cases even improved after their passage through the maelstrom of change. Ron's trip afforded us a bird's eye view of some of the most beautiful church architecture I have ever seen outside of Rome as well as glimpses of industrial buildings whose history still resonates around the world.
I have lost count of the times i have passed St. Anthony's church and I had always assumed it referred Saint Anthony of Padua, so you can imagine how surprised I was to dicover that is was in fact saint Anthony of Egypt. That was the first of many items of new knowledge that I was introduced to on the tour that also took in Saint Francis Xavier's and the Friary. The locked gates of latter were garlanded with flowers, placed daily by Kay Kelly who is campaiging to have the gates opened to all so that others can see the beauty of the interior.
For me, the high point of the tour was a visit to SFX. The phrase high point is apt because the coach driver did a magnificent job of negotiating the crowded narrow roads leading up from the monument erected to the memory of Gerrard gardens. As I stepped off the coach I saw a plaque commemorating the the fact that Gerrard Manley Hopkins had once served there as priest. He is one of my favourite English poets and I was reminded that he spent four years in Liverpool and was so depressed at the deprivation he encountered that he only penned one poem in that period; appropriately enough an ode to the unemployed. I am sure he would be cheered by the massive improvements that have occurred in that area since he left the town.
The interior of Saint Francis's is quite simply awe inspiring and so it was no surprise that the hushed aisles were soon echoing to the sound of camera shutters. I eventually managed to take a few myself although I must confess that I felt ever so slightly impious.
However, as I relaxed in the easy going atmosphere of the tour I took many more.
The tour was not restricted to religious monuments and we ended up, after visiting the world's largest tobacco warehouse, at the canal side where I was regaled with tales of the days when young children would swim in the locks which were known as the 'scaldies' because the hot water released into them by nearby factories rendered the normally icy water into a tropical playground.
The young lady from English Heritage later presented a prize for the best anecdote of the tour which was provided by a man who as a child had fished for crabs, using cods' heads obtained from the market, and then raced them along the canal bank! Speaking for myself I think all concerned in organising and approving the trip deserve a prize too.